The Market Place: Owner-chef sells one restaurant, shares plans for others
ASHEVILLE - For nearly 45 years, The Market Place has been at the center of downtown dining in Asheville.
Since 2009, chef William Dissen has held the reins of the restaurant, at 20 Wall St., and has introduced new concepts across the state over time.
Now, the restaurateur is taking one entity off his plate so that he may better serve and dedicate efforts to other culinary endeavors.
On July 20, Dissen announced he’s sold his Charlotte restaurant, Haymaker, to fellow chef Chris Coleman and his partners at Built On Hospitality.
“I’m excited about the transition of Haymaker. It will allow me a lot more time to work on these projects and to spend more time at home in Asheville with my family,” Dissen said. “I’m also excited for the team there. We’ve grown an amazing team and I’m excited for what the new management will do to take it to new heights. I hope it’s around for a long time to come. It’s a great restaurant.”
The Haymaker acquisition put Coleman’s restaurant group at three establishments, joining The Goodyear House and Old Town Kitchen and Cocktails in Charlotte.
Haymaker's “gorgeous” venue, location, “amazing team” and menu were some of the factors that pursued Coleman to seal the deal.
“Will and I share a lot of the same philosophies when it comes to food,” said Coleman, a winner of Food Network’s “Chopped,” “Beat Bobby Flay” and “Alex vs. America.” “We both believe in local sourcing, sustainable food systems, letting the seasons and ingredients dictate the menu.”
Coleman said he plans to build upon what Dissen has created. However, Haymaker diners will see some changes and more menu additions that reflect Southern Appalachian heritage, cuisine and culture.
“We do plan to make some changes," Coleman said. "The food that we do, Built On Hospitality, is rooted in the South but we also like to play with ingredients so we will sneak in some chili crisps or a house-made chamoy or something like that every now and then, but always letting the ingredients shine.”
Coleman also plans to introduce lunch service and happy hour drinks and food specials and host activities before sporting events.
The Charlotte-based restaurant group is considering other avenues of expansion with restaurants and new concepts, like bodegas, in Charlotte and new markets, like Asheville, in the next year.
Q&A with Chef William Dissen
For Dissen, selling Haymaker is a bittersweet farewell but a move that’s to allow him to invest more time and resources in his other restaurant The Market Place, as well as other restaurant ventures and projects.
Dissen also owns Billy D’s Fried Chicken, which has locations at Wake Forest University, Elon University and the North Carolina Zoo. He’s aiming to introduce a new concept, Little Gem, at the zoo by the end of 2023.
Also, Dissen, a celebrated culinary diplomat, is preparing to release his first cookbook in April.
Dissen shared the plans for their restaurants and other food aspirations, and how their decisions may change how diners eat in their dining rooms and at home.
How did Haymaker come to be?
In 2018, Dissen opened Haymaker in Charlotte, which was originally imagined to be an extension of The Market Place then reenvisioned with its own style and character with similar foundations.
Dissen: Originally, it was going to be The Market Place-Charlotte. That was kind of the idea to take the sensibilities of what we create and the legacy we built in Asheville and move it to Charlotte. But as we were doing that, we thought The Market Place is special and an iconic restaurant ― it’s about to celebrate its 45th anniversary in the next year ― and we need to leave that for what it is, and Haymaker was born.
How is Haymaker different from and like The Market Place?
Haymaker and The Market Place are both causal, fine dining concepts. Their menus have never been the same, though the approach to ingredient sourcing is identical.
Dissen: It’s really trying to take those core values from a place of being community-driven and farm-to-fork and focus on sustainability and to see if we could take it to the big city and do it right in the middle of Uptown Charlotte. … The restaurant is casual fine dining with seasonal menus with a focus on hyper-local sustainability.
Why sell Haymaker, and why now?
Dissen: Every year since its inception we’re on multiple “best of” lists every year. As we’re exiting the business, in the past week we were on the “best of” list for “Southern Living” and “Thrillist.” It’s bittersweet, but we’re going out on top.
The Market Place is hitting its 45th anniversary, which I think is a pretty big deal. How many restaurants make it to 45 years old? So, we’re pushing toward that at The Market Place. I also have a growing brand at my Billy D’s Fried Chicken concept and we’re looking forward to continuing growing that as well as another brand we’re looking to get started called Little Gem ― that’s a fast-casual concept, as well.
I also just wrote my first cookbook that will be coming out right after the new year. Working on getting all that launched and also spending some time home in Asheville with my family and children.
Why was Chef Coleman the ideal person to take over Haymaker?
Dissen: He has a similar philosophy in his farm-to-table, farm-to-form approach, and he’s a local Charlottean. He started his career in Uptown Charlotte very close to the Haymaker and is somebody that I respect in the Queen City. He was the first person I reached out to about it ― the only person I ended up reaching out to about it ― and it was good timing for him and his company, and they jumped on it.
What do you have planned for The Market Place?
Dissen: The restaurant (The Market Place) was founded in June 1979. We will be having lots of celebrations throughout the year next year.
We’ve got a lot of updates we’ve been working on with our menu formatting. We’re working on launching Market Place into the next chapter of its life for its 45th anniversary.
How has The Market Place been able to survive for 45 years?
Dissen: I think the community. We do a lot of work giving back. We really try to invest in the community. A lot of places say they’re farm-to-table but are they really? We spend a lot of time investing in our local farms, and I think that connection to community is really important. Our food is consistently delicious, and we’ve grown into an iconic farm-to-table restaurant. The Market Place was the forefounder of Asheville’s dining scene and it’s not something we take lightly. We’re excited to push ahead to even greater heights for the restaurant in the coming year.
What’s new with Billy D’s Fried Chicken?
Dissen: We currently have three locations for Billy D’s Fried Chicken ― at N.C. Zoo, Elon University and Wake Forest University. It’s a fast-casual fried chicken restaurant but it’s still the same core values as The Market Place. We source everything locally and regionally. … We aim to have those same core values, and I think that’s been where our success lies. We’re taking care of the community and thinking about where our food comes from.
The future with that, I’m hoping to expand more in North Carolina, and at some point, I hope to get a location in Asheville.
What makes your fried chicken special?
Dissen: It’s great local poultry. I have a special pickle brine that I do on the chicken and then we use a blend of different herbs and spices. I work with Spicewalla and have created a special blend of spices that we use in our breading that’s amazing.
Little Gem will tentatively open at the end of the year at the N.C. Zoo. What is the concept of the eatery?
Dissen: We’re looking to launch at that North Carolina Zoo. Little Gem is a fast-casual restaurant with counter service, and it will focus on healthy eating ― rice bowls, salad bowls and smoothies but still using local and regional ingredients, fruits, vegetables, proteins ― in a way that’s quick and healthy and casual.
'Thoughtful Cooking: Recipes Rooted in the New South' will be your first published cookbook. What is the premise and what was the motivation for writing it?
Dissen: I’ve written a number of recipes and been involved in other cookbooks, but this is my first solo foray into becoming a cookbook author. … It’s my seasonal approach to cooking that I take in all my restaurants, and there’s a lot of conversation about what it means to eat thoughtfully; the choices we make with what we eat makes a bigger effect on us. Not only eating delicious food but understanding that you are what you eat, and those things can affect the community and the world around us.
What is the 'New South'?
Dissen: The New South is an evolution of all the history and cultures that have come before us from Native American to African American to Italian to Scotch-Irish ― the melting pot that has come through the South and built the root of our country. And it’s ever-evolving.
Southern food isn’t just collard greens and grits. There’s a lot of other flavors and cultures stirred into the pot. Be mindful of where our food comes from and what the heritage of it is.
Can you give a teaser of a couple of recipes that will be in the cookbook?
Dissen: If you’ve had my fried chicken, I’ve had a lot of people ask for the recipe. It may or may not be in the cookbook. You’ll have to buy it and find out.
I have a big passion for sustainable seafood. … I have a lot of delicious seafood recipes in there that I think the readers will really love.
Food new you may have missed:
Asheville chef William Dissen selected as U.S. culinary diplomat, travels to Qatar. Read here.
Chef William Dissen takes on Gordon Ramsay in sustainability cooking on 'National Geographic.' Read here.
4 scenic vineyards, wineries to visit this summer in the Asheville area. Read here.
The Market Place
Where: 20 Wall St., downtown Asheville
Info: For more, visit marketplace-restaurant.com.
Haymaker
Where: 225 S. Poplar St., Charlotte
Info: For more, visit haymakerclt.com.
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: The Market Place owner-chef sells sister restaurant, shares next steps
